Tadej Pogačar has won Il Lombardia for the fifth consecutive time, equalling the record of Fausto Coppi in the season-ending Monument race. The Slovenian crossed the line first in Bergamo after a trademark attack on the Passo di Ganda climb, becoming the first man since Eddy Merckx in 1975 to win three Monuments, the Tour de France and a world title in a single season.
From the moment Pogačar launched his attack with around 38km remaining of the 241km race, the result was never in doubt. He finished nearly two minutes ahead of Remco Evenepoel, who again ended up second behind cycling's dominant force, as he did at the recent world and European championships. Australian Michael Storer finished third, rounding out the podium.
“To win five times in a row … every time I start it feels like this race is suited to me, but also at the same time that with such a good team around me we can pull it off,” Pogačar said. “I always say, seven years in a row, this is my best season, and again I can say this is the best season so far.”
At 27 years old, Pogačar has now won 10 of the sport's Monuments, nine shy of the career tally set by Merckx. His fifth straight victory in the “Race of the Falling Leaves” adds to a growing list of records, as he became the first man to win the Tour de France and world championship two seasons in a row, and the first to finish on the podium of all five Monuments in the same season.
Backed by a star-studded team including Isaac del Toro and Adam Yates, Pogačar plugged away in the peloton for much of the race as a breakaway containing Quinn Simmons pushed ahead early on. Pogačar made his move on the Passo di Ganda, exactly as he did two years ago, catching Simmons before the summit and riding solo to a historic win.
Storer became only the second Australian rider in 120 years to make the podium at the Tour of Lombardy, after Phil Anderson in 1986. The 28-year-old battled home for third, 25 seconds clear of Simmons, in a year that also saw him earn his first stage victory at Paris-Nice and overall triumph in the Tour of the Alps.
